[ Conferon Perspective: Knowledge Is Power ]In Hotel Negotiation
Knowledge Is Power

by Brad Weaber
Some months ago, my colleague Bruce Harris wrote in this space about the concept of "power questions." While savvy hotels plot careful histories of prospective the converse is also true: Astute meeting managers realize that knowledge about a hotel is power. Acquiring information about a hotel's needs is one of the most important tools in the art of negotiating.

Here are four "power questions" you need to know the answers to. If you don't know, ask!

Q. Can you take my group one or two days earlier... or one or two days later?

If the hotel cannot take your business earlier or later, you know you've filled a hole, making your business of greater value to the hotel. This could provide greater leverage in negotiation.
If the hotel can accommodate a change in arrival or departure – and the lead time is short – it indicates the hotel is in a "need" period. If you can offer flexibility on your dates and the hotel has all or most of the dates available, the value of your business will be enhanced.

Q. What percentage of your meeting space am I utilizing?

Hotels are taking a much stronger position with "space hog" groups. Remember, meeting space is built for the sole purpose of selling rooms. You have little leverage if your group takes a lot of meeting space but a proportionately small sleeping block.

Q. What is your hotel's total group room commitment over this time period?

Many meeting managers are unaware that this number will vary in different seasons. It may not seem like a good piece of business if you are using 150 rooms in a 600-room hotel (25 percent) and require 50 percent of the meeting space. But those same requirements look awfully attractive to a hotel if the "group room threshold" at that time of year is only 200 rooms. This will confirm that your group is actually the largest in house, which may afford you additional concessions.

Q. What are your current rack and corporate rates over my dates (or a comparable set of dates)?

You must determine this information to establish how much lower your "group" rate should be. (If, as a large group, you are only a few percentage points below "rack," you need a refresher course in rate negotiation.)
So-called "corporate" rates have proven to be an albatross around the necks of both hoteliers and meeting managers due to numerous volume agreements. Meeting managers strive to ensure that group rates are below corporate rates so attendees will book within the block. If they go outside the block, you'll pay for it in lost comp pickups and attrition penalties.

As the economy continues to improve and we go from a "buyers" to a "sellers" market, it is imperative that planners ask the right power questions.
Brad Weaber is senior account executive in the Washington, D.C. area office (Arlington, Va.) of Conferon, the nation's largest independent planning company meeting planning company.

First published in: Convene Magazine, October 1995